ANC secretary-general Fikile “Vutha” Mbalula on Saturday launched a scathing attack on businessman Rob Hersov for allegedly calling for the sanctioning of South Africa by the US, as diplomatic relations between the two countries have reached the lowest point.
Mbalula was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the ongoing ANC national executive committee (NEC) Lekgotla meeting held at the Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg, in Ekurhuleni.
An irate Mbalula said Hersov and “druggies” who speak ill of South Africa because of their dual citizenship must be isolated.
Bitter after being sidelined from business deals
He accused Hersov of being bitter against ANC leaders in particular because they had refused to give him business deals.
In this regard, Mbalula dropped a bombshell about how Hersov once approached him when he was minister of transport, wanting a licence to build a private airport in Cape Town and promised that he was mobilising funding.
Mbalula apparently rejected his advances after the two met at the Investec offices and has never known peace since then.
Masquerading as billionaire
In any event, charged a furious Mbalula, Hersov is a scammer who portrays himself as a billionaire, which he is not.
Mbalula said South Africa was not going to succumb to propaganda by druggies who are riding on US President Donald Trump’s offensive against South Africa.
Hersov, Mbalula added, was misguided to think that ANC leaders have an appetite to go to the US when he calls for their sanctioning.
These druggies speaking ill of their country when they are high on cocaine, he pressed on, must rather focus on getting sober and getting themselves admitted at rehab centres.
“Rob Hersov has got to be who he is because there are certain things he wanted from government. He wanted me to give him an airport in Cape Town. I cannot give that to that lousy fellow who does not have money and portrays himself as a billionaire,” Mbalula launched the attack on the businessman.
“This fellow (Hersov), whenever he wakes up from his drunken stupor, is on our case about South Africa this and that. We cannot be threatened by drunkards and druggies, we are a democratic state.
“People who take drugs, [like] cocaine and wake up and want to guide a democratic state—you cannot guide us. They can only guide their fellow druggies, who must be taken to rehab in order to recover,” said Mbalula, upping the temperature.
“Democracy and politics of this country cannot be driven by druggies, people who sniff cocaine and whenever they are high, they insult democracy and the ANC.
“I met him (Rob Hersov) at Investec, he did ask for the airport from me and that is what he wanted and said he is organising global finance. This guy supposedly inherited wealth from his forefathers and parades himself as a billionaire but the billionaires that we know are Johann Rupert and Patrice Motsepe, as per Forbes, this one we do not know.”
